More on CATHOLICATE CHURCH HISTORY AT A GLANCE

(PLEASE NOTE: The following is the continuation of CATHOLICATE HISTORY AT A GLANCE series. I publish this series to promote our Orthodox MISSION with a

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, Feb 2, 2006

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(PLEASE NOTE: The following is the continuation of
CATHOLICATE HISTORY AT A GLANCE series. I publish this
series to promote our Orthodox MISSION with a
CATHOLICATE VISION. I hope and pray that this would
help our growing generation to understand the true
nature and history of CATHOLICATE so that they could
stabilise their faith and tradition in Catholicate
Orthodoxy. I also hope that this would help to bring
lasting peace in the Church. Though it was announced
earlier to publish this in a book form (because of
several requests), it was delayed due to some
practical and technical reasons. Now arrangements have
been making to print the book as
soon as possible. The plan is to distribute copies to
those who are interested before April 2nd, i.e. the
day we observe CATHOLICATE DAY this year all over the
world. Those who are interested for copies of this
very valuable book to study the CATHOLICATE OF ST.
THOMAS may contact me at veryrevtpm @... as we
are planning to print only limited copies. The book
will have 73 mini chapters, 8 topics in appendices,
few pictures and a message from His Grace Job Mar
Philoxenos Metropolitan of New Delhi Diocese).

DARK CLOUDS ON THE HORIZON

In 1970, Patriarch Ignatius Yakoub III sent a letter
to the Catholicos dated 27th June, questioning the
priesthood of St. Thomas, which read as follows:

A long time before your letter, I saw another letter
heading Throne of St. Thomas and was really
surprised at that. Since the establishment of the
Catholicate in the 4th century, none of the
Catholicoses or Maphriyans have used this title.
Secondly, St. Thomas has not founded any throne, which
may be termed as Throne of St. Thomas. As is
evident from St. Johns Gospel (20:21-24), he was not
a priest. How can he be a high priest without being a
priest? How can he establish a throne without being a
high priest? Therefore, no historian ever says that
he ordained anybody as bishop or founded a throne of
Catholicos.

This letter was discussed by the Malankara Synod,
which unanimously rejected the Patriarchs views. The
peace attempts in the Church were soon back to square
one. The Patriarch hastily decided to consecrate
Remban Mar Aphrem Abudi as bishop, a Syrian national
who was staying in Malankara at that time, and
appointed him as a delegate to Malankara. When he
tried to interfere in the Malankara Church affairs,
members of the Malankara Church petitioned to the
Government to cancel his visa and deport him.
Rejecting his appeal, the Government of India
cancelled his visa and deported him in July 1973.
Patriarch retaliated by consecrating more bishops in
Malankara ignoring the Malankara constitution and its
directives. This was a planned plot to form a parallel
church within the Malankara Church, an innovative
strategy, as the history would stand witness. The
Catholicos filed a case in the Kottayam District Court
in 1974 seeking the following:

1. Prevent the bishops ordained by the Patriarch from
entering the 1064 parish churches;

2. Declare that the assets of the Church belong to the
Catholicate and their administration is vested in the
Catholicos.

Court admitted this petition and passed an interim
order preventing the bishops ordained by the Patriarch
from entering the 1064 parishes in Malankara.

This dissident group still supporting the Antiochian
Patriarch of Syria formed a Congregation of their own,
separating from the mainstream of the indigenous,
independent, Malankara Oriental Orthodox Church of
India. Note that both groups follow the same faith and
practices. Nonetheless, the Patriarch group started
another legal maneuver to haunt the Church. The
litigation is for authority: whether the Church should
be under the Catholicos -- the head of the indigenous,
independent, autonomous, autocephalous Church of
India, or under the foreign Patriarch of Antioch. The
division in the Church became a reality by 1974 when
the Patriarchian and the Catholicate factions
excommunicated and expelled each other. Malankara
Synod expelled Mar Clemis and Mar Philoxenos, two
bishops consecrated by the Patraiarch. Patriarch in
turn, summoned Mar Philoxenos and installed him as the
Catholicos (Mapriyana) under him on 7th Sepetember,
1975.

The litigation went all the way to the Supreme Court
of India. The Supreme Court of India rendered its
verdict on this matter on June 20, 1995, favoring the
Catholicos.

(TO BE CONTINUED.....)

Very Rev. Thomas P. Mundukuzhy Cor Episcopa

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